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Full Report

Leeds Rhinos winger Ryan Hall produced two devastating finishes to earn the Super League champions an impressive victory in tonight's Grand-Final rematch at Headingley.

Hall demonstrated his uncanny ability to score from near-impossible positions as he twice squeezed over at the corner for crucial tries as Warrington Wolves suffered a fourth defeat of the season.

The in-form Hall was in good company as the Rhinos demonstrated their determination to hang onto their crown despite the absence of four of their Grand Final heroes through injury and suspension.

Full-back Zak Hardaker made a big impact on his return from a six-week injury lay-off while early on it was the Danny McGuire show as the veteran half-back twisted out of Brett Hodgson's tackle to open the scoring with his 225th try for the club after just three minutes.

Kevin Sinfield kicked the conversion and added a penalty five minutes later to put the champions into an 8-0 lead.

Leeds looked full of confidence after their stunning win over Catalan Dragons in Perpignan but lacked some of their familiar precision and paid the price on 12 minutes.

Warrington right winger Joel Monaghan pounced on a wayward pass from Sinfield and sprinted 80 metres for an opportunist try.

But the Wolves were even more error-prone than their hosts, who took full advantage of handling mistakes by Ryan Atkins and Hodgson to open up a 16-6 lead.

Hall came up with his first trademark devastating finish, touching down one-handed while in mid-air, while the equally athletic Kallum Watkins fended off the attempted tackle of Chris Riley to touch down at the other corner.

Unable to find a kicking game to subject the Leeds defence to any sustained pressure, Warrington were beginning to look a sorry bunch until scrum-half Richie Myler spotted a gap in the home defence to pull another try back on 32 minutes.

Hodgson's second goal made it 16-12 but Hardaker marked his return from a dislocated thumb with a breathtaking 60-metre break out of defence to set up a fourth try three minutes before the break.

Hardaker beat three men on a dazzling run and, although Stefan Ratchford got back to make a try-saving tackle, it only delayed the inevitable, with hooker Paul McShane forcing his way over from the next play-the-ball.

A 20-12 interval lead was scant reward for the Rhinos' superiority, with Sinfield unusually missing three of his five kicks at goal, but the captain was quickly back in the groove in the second half, along with his team.

The England captain combined superbly with his trusted lieutenants Rob Burrow and McGuire to create just enough space for Joel Moon to get Hall over at the corner for his second try, the talented winger again producing a wonderful finish with very little room to manoeuvre.

This time Sinfield kicked the touchline conversion and Leeds consolidated their advantage with some stout defence, Hardaker pulling off try-saving tackles on Ratchford and Micky Higham.

It took some good fortune to finally unlock the Leeds defence as Ratchford regathered his initial kick that bounced back off Burrow before kicking again for Monaghan, who touched down for his second try after juggling with the ball.

Hodgson's third goal made it 26-18, the same scoreline from October's Grand Final and last year's corresponding league game, and spurred the Wolves to produce their best rugby of the match.

Sinfield kicked a penalty to give his side more breathing space but the visitors had the final say when Atkins went over for a consolation try in the last move of the match.

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